Valve for internal-combustion engines



April 5, 1927.

O. C. FUNDERBURK VALVE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Sept. 20,1923 Eff UDEM' 2 Sheets-Sheen:l 1

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2 O. C. FUNDERBURK Filed Sept. 20, 1923 VALVE FORINTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES April 5, 1927.

IN\/E NTR @m Patented pr. 5, 1927.

PATENT OFFICE.

OTIS C. FUNDERBUBK, OF BOSTON, .MASSACHUSETTS VALVE For. INTERNAL-coMBUs'rIoN ENGINES.-

Application filed September 20, `17923. Serial No. 663,883.

` the valve lifter on the `lower end ofthe valve stem is one of thechief causes of noise in an' internal combustion engine. This isparticularly the case in internal combustion engines having overheadvalves -and cam shafts adjacent the crank shaft since large clearancesarenecessary owing to the large amount of expansion in internalcombustion engines running at-high temperatures. It is also wellunderstood that in V-type engnes `the work of adjusting the valve litersafter the valves have been ground occupies asmuch time as or' more thanthe work of v grinding the valves. It is also understood that thisadjustment requires great skill and must be done very carefully,otherwise the engine will not operate properly or will be 'will now bedescribed are arranged in pairs,

noisy.

Attempts have been made to overcome these difiiculties by interposing acolumn of lubricating oil between the valve lifter and the valvestemvbut such attempts have not been successful chieiybecause noelective means okeeping the column of oil supplied with the varyingquantities required has been devised. a l

The device embodying -my invention is applicable both to L-head andT-head engines as well as to overhead valve engines, but since theproblem of noise is particularly serious in overhead valve engines, andsince, by increasing the length of the oil column, it is possible to doaway altogether with the long push rod and rocker arms.

I have shown my invention in its preferred form as embodied in an enginehaving overhead valves.

The invention will be fully understood `from the following descriptionwhen taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novelfeatures thereof will be pointed outv and clearly defined in the claimsat the close of this specification.

Referringngw to the drawings:

.O Fig. 1 is a section of an internal combustion englnerhaving overheadvalves equipped with a valve gear embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on a larger scale showing one valve and connectedparts.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3--3, Fig. 1, showing two adjacent valvelifters together with the. casing in which they operate and the cam.

\ Fi 4 1s a side elevation of the casing in whic the valve liftersoperate.

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 5, Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6 6, Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a section on line 7 7, Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating the ac'tion of the parts.

Fig. 9 is a section showing my invention as ap lied to an L-head motor.

Re erring now to the drawings, and particularly to Figfl, there is shownat A a cylinder block, and at B the removable head casting. .A camshaftis shown at C; two

cams being shown at D andE (see Fig. 3).

One inlet valve is shown at F and one ex haustbv valve at G. These partsare 'of ordinary construction, except as statedin the claims, and formno part of my invention.

The. valve operating mechanisms lwhich the valve operating mechanism foreach valve being4 in part dependent for its operation on the other valveoperating mechanism of the pair. At H is shown ,a pipe leading to thelubricating system of the engine (not shown) an supplying the valveoperating mechanism with a 'continuous supply of oil under pressure.

At 11 is shown acasing mounted on the cylinder block and having withintwo cylindrical bores 12 in which operate valve lifters 13 and 14. Inthe drawings as'shown,

each casing 11 has two cylindrical bores therein the whole beingarranged for the operation of a pair Vof valves. It will-be understood',however. that I do not limit myself to this construction since, it` moreconvenient, multiples of this unit may be formed in a single casting..The valve lifters 13 and 14 are. supplied with cam rolls-15 and 16 in`the well known manner, .and the said rollsare held against thel cams bysprings 17,'the upper end of each spring resting against a shoulder a inthe casing and the lower end resting against a shoulder b. on the valvelifter. Each valve llifter vvis turned down, as shown at c, to form anannular space, below and above which are cylindrical portions -which fittightly in the bore of thecasing. Each bore is supplied withthreeannular' enlargements of oil grooves; those in the right-handbore whichoperatethe inlet' valve being marked 18, 19,

and 20, while those in the exhaust valve bore are marked ,21, 22 and 23.It will bcseen that the top grooves are therefore designa ted 18 and 21,te middle grooves are designated 19 and 22 and the lower grooves aredesignated 20 and 23. .The sections shown in Figs. 5, 6 and -7 are takenonY horizontal planes through the three 'sets of oil grooves;

thus Fig. 5 is taken through the bottom oil grooves 20 and 23.

n F ig. 6 is taken through the middle oil grooves`19 and 22 and Fig. 7

is taken through the top oil grooves 18 andv 7 lnclusive, and theldiagram which is shown in Fig. 8. Thus-the middle grooveil) of the'vright-hand bore. is connected with thetop groove 21 ofr the left-handbore by'horizons tal passages 28 and 29 and thevertical bore 27.Likewise the middle groove 22 of the left-hand bore is connected withthe top.

groove 18 of the right-hand bore by -the horizontal passages 30 and 31and the vertical passage 26. The arrangement of these passages insimplified form will be readily understood from an examintion of thediagram comprising Fig. 8. The turned-down' portions c on the valvelifters act as valves which connect the lower oil grooves 20 and 23 withthe middle oil grooves19 and 22 at certain times during their travel.The elect of this is to connect the source 'of oil supply from thelubricating system under pressure with the top oil-groove 18 or 21depending upon the position of the valve litters, The top of the valvelifter -when in itslowest position is slightlybelow the top of 'theupper oil groove so that this oil groove then opens into the space abovethe valve lifter. The' spaces above the tops of the valve lifters,designated 6 and 7, respectively, consitute theoil column by which thevalve stem is moved. In theormshown in Figs. Lto 3,

` this oil column extends through the pipes 32 v and 33, passages 35 andinto the chamber 36 formed' in.`the cover 37S'thereby exertingpressure'on'the end face Z of the valve stem 38. In the form shown inFig. 9, however,

as will be later `explained,the oil column is very short, beingdesignated 40. The length The middle groovesof the oil column is clearlydependent on the distance between the valve lifter and the valve stemand it is one of the advantages of the system embodying my inventionthat thc-lifter and .valve stem can be placed at any desired distanceapart, since the oil c'olumn can be contained within any connecting pipeor passageand being flexible, the design is not affected by thenecessity of providing a mechanical connection between the two parts. Y

The mechanism above the oil column -as embodied in an overhead valvemechanism will now be described.

The valve stem 38 slides in a tubular gide 39 in the head` casting B.`The upper end of the valve stem is provided with an enlargedcylindrical member 41 forming a plunger or piston which slides in ahollow-Valve spring cage 42. The piston 41' fits an upper cylinderportion 420 of the cage 42, which cylinder portion is open at its upperend to the chambers 36 and at its inner end is enlarged or counterbored,as shown at'421. The cage 42 screws onto a thimble 43 and has a shouldere seating against a gasket 44 having a ground spherical face f whichcontacts with a complementary spherical face or seat in the head castingB. Within the thimble 43 and Valve cage 42 is a valve spring 46, one endof which seats against the inturned shoulder g or the thimble 43' andtheother end of thevalve stem. -It` will therefore bc seen that thevalve spring 46 tends to hold the valve 'closed and that the ground seat-f between the head and the washer 45 permits the valve cage 42 toadjustitself so that the bore wit-hin which the plunger 41 moves will beperfectly alined concentrically with the axis of the valve stem 38. Thejoint at e is also a ground joint. The spherical joint f takes care ofmisalignment and the flat joint at e takes care of eccentricity.

At 47 lis shown a bleed port which-carries away from the interior of thevalve -cage 42 any. oil which may leak by the pist0l'41. Itwillthereforel be seen that there is no oil pressure wit-'hin the valve cage42 and therefore the pressure exerted by the oil on the face dof thepiston tends to compress the spring 46 and open the valve. l

It will be understood that the structure Fig. 3, the turned-down portionc connects' which seats against a washer 45 secured to the oil groovewith the oil groove 19 and oil flows freely from the lubricating systeminto the passage 28, vertical passage 27, passage 29 to the upper oil,rgroove 21 of the 5 other valve-lifter 14. At this time the valvelit'terl4 is in its low position and the eX- haust valve G is closed. The oilvtherefore fills the oil pipe and chamber 36 if it is empty or suppliesany deficiency it there 1u has been any leakage, but the pressuree'xerted by the lubricating system is not-sufi'icient,to compress thespring 46 and open the valve. Tthereaftcr, the revolution of the camshaftcases the cam E tov perlnit the valve lifter 13 to drop, the cam Dstill holding the cam lifter- 14 in substantially the same position. Thecam lifter 13 reaches its lowest position before the cam lifter 14starts to rise,land the turned-down portion c drops below the lower edgeof the middle groove 19, so that the -Valve lifters are then in theposit-ion shown in the diagram forming Fig. 8. .At this time the oilpassage from the lubricating system to the oil column above the camlifter 14 is closed, and this takes place before the cam lifter 14begins to rise. Thereafter, the cam. lifter 14 rises,

pushin'g the oil column ahead of itjand lifting the valve, but sincetheother cam lifter has cut olf communication with the lubricatingsystem, none of' the oil can be pushed back into the lubricating system,and the action in lifting the valve is positive. At the ,next revolutionof the cam shaft the valvelifters assume the reverse positions, and thelubricating system supplies oil through the ports 30, 26 and 31 to theupper oil groove 18 on the inlet valve-lifter 13. At the same time thelifter 14 rises above the top of 7the upper oil .groove 21 ofthe exhaustvalve lifter, and raises the column of oil in the pipe 33 between theend of the lifterand the end of the-valve stem, and opens the valve. Itwill therefore be seen that'when one valve lifter is pushing up thel oilcolumn to open its correspondingvalve, the other vvalve lifter is downand is being supplied with oil to replace any deficiency caused byleakage, or otherwise. It will also be seenthat the lifters operate notonly to lift the columns of oil, but also as a slide valve to make theconnections between the ports necessary toaccomplish the replenishmentof the oil column for the adjacent valve.

The extent of opening movement of each'.y

Aapplied to an ordinary L-head engine having -the inlet andexhaustvalves on the same side. .The construction of the valve lifter isexactly the same as that already described in connection with Figs. 1and to 8 inclusive. In this construction.l however, 'the valve steni Sis provided atthe lower end with a piston 5() operating in the upper endof the bore of the lifter casing 51. Between the'lower end of theplunger 50'and the upper end of thev valve lifter 52 is a space 4()within which is the oil column which transmits the movement of the valvelifter to the valve stem. This oil columnas will be seen is very smallindeed and the valve lifter 'is so near to the lower end of the valvestem 4that in case thereshould be a `t'ailure ot' the lubricating systemto supply oil to the valve mechanism the lower. end of the valve stemwould 'rest on the upperl end of the lifter Aand the mechanism` wouldstill. operate through with a reduced valve opening. This is animportant feature ot' this embodiment of my invention, lbecause failureof the oil column resulting from leakage orotherwise will not interruptthe action of the valve mechanism. Furthermore it makes it possible `tostart the` engine even though the oil' columns are empty.

From the'foregoing itY will be seen that' the" mechanism embodying myinvention .provides a continuous supply of oil for the replenishment ofthe oil columns and at thev l.saine time affords a substantially rigidconnect'ion between the valve lifter and the ,'100

valve stem without thepresence ot a clearance'which necessarily resultsin objectionable noise. It willalso beseen that the mechanismautomatically compensates for any change in adjustment and there-foreafter the valves areA ground or the parts have been assembled, noadjustment of the valve lii'ters is required, thus doing. away with atleast half the labor resulting from valve grinding.

Moreover, the arrangement in pairs, in consequence of which the oilcolumn over one valve lifter isbeing replenishedvby the action of theother valve` lifter, makes it possible to attain the full liftV of thevalve in every instance,'which is a great improve- 115 ment overconstructions heretofore tempted in'which some of the oil in the o1lcolumn is pushed back into the lubricating system, therebyv cutting downthe amountl which the valve islifted. In my present device, this doesnot take place. because communication with the lubricating system iscompletely cut oil before the valve lifter begins to push the column ofoil up. Therefore, since at this' time-none of the oil can 125 escape,the movement of the valve lifter produces` an equal movement of thevalve stem.

It will also be seen that while the arcolumn is being replenished whilethe other oil column is'acting to operate the valve, `is desirable, itis not necessary to have the valves themselves on the same sideftheengine Ias the valve litters. Furthermore the invention 'is capablev ofembodiment in various .other forms or arrangements, thus making possiblegreater flexibility in the design of the engine. than has heretoforebeen possible where it has been necessary to have a ,direct mechanicalconnection between the valve stem and the valve lifter.

lYhat I claim is:

1. The oil operated valve mechanism in which cooperating ports in avalve lifter and the casing therefor establish communication between asource of oil supply under pressure and the oil space between anotherlifter and its cooperating valve stem whereby one lifter acts as a valveto control the supply of oil to the oilv valve stem,.while ports in thelatter lifterand its casing control. the flow to the oil space betweenthe first mentioned lifter and its cooperating valvestem..

'3. The oil operated-valve mechanism for a pair 'of valves in whichcooperating ports in a pair of adjacent valve lifters and the cas-y mgfqrthem alternately act as valves so that -oil from Va source of oilsupply under pressure is alternately supplied to the spaces between saidvalve lifters and the valves operated by them.

4. In combination, -a casinghaving therespace of another lifter dur' ingthe idle period of the latter.

in two bores each with three oillgrooves about them, and having passagesconnecting a. groove of one bore with a groove of another bore, andhaving a passage leading from a source of oil supply under pressure toone of the grooves'of each bore, valve lifters in each bore each havinga port which in one position of the lifter will connect two adjacentgrooves, said casing also forming at least lin part a space to containan oil column to support the valve stem, said parts being arranged sothat the oil column space for one` valve lifter will be connected by theport in the other lifter with the grooves in its bore and therebywithl'he source of oil supply.

5. The oil operated valve mechanism for a pair of valves inwhichcooperating ports in a pair of adjacent valve lifters and the casing forthem alternately act as valves so that oil from a source of oil supplyunder pressureV is alternately supplied to the oil spaces between thevalve lifters andy the valves ope-rated by them, said ports beingarranged ,so that the communication between the source of oil supply andthe oil space is wholly cut off before the valve lifter begins itslifting movement.

6. In combination with a lifter and a casing therefor, a valve chamber,a passage connecting said casing and Said valve chamber, a valve stemand a cage containing the spring within the chamber. there being acombined fiat and spherical joint between the cage and its seat so thatthe cage can adjust itself to the position of the valve stem.

In testimony whereof I affix my s1gnature.

.OTIS C. FUNDERBURK.

